DEGENERATIVE CERVICAL SPINE

DEGENERATIVE CERVICAL SPINE - Degenerative cervical spine conditions are age-related issues affecting the neck and upper back. This area is vulnerable to damage because your cervical (upper) spine not only supports your head, but it also facilitates movement between your neck and head. The cervical spine is made up of seven vertebrae, labeled C1 – C7. These vertebrae are linked by facet joints and cushioned by round discs made of cartilage. As we age, the joints and discs in the spine can dry out and lose their ability to withstand everyday activity, leading to conditions like arthritis and degenerative disc disease. Symptoms will usually be experienced in relation to nerve compression caused by displaced anatomy like herniated disc material or an arthritic bone spur.

• Pain — A compressed nerve in the cervical spine can cause pain that begins in the neck or upper back and then feels as if it is radiating or shooting down through your shoulders, arms and hands.

• Numbness — Since spinal nerves in the cervical spine control sensation in the upper neck, back, shoulders, arms and hands, numbness in the upper body could be a sign of a degenerative spine disease in the cervical region.

• Tingling — You may get a pins-and-needles feeling due to certain spinal nerves being partially restricted.

TORTICOLLIS - INDRAPRASTH PHYSIOTHERAPY CENTRE

TORTICOLLIS - Torticollis is a fixed or dynamic tilt, rotation, or flexion of the head and/or neck. The type of torticollis can be described depending on the positions of the head and neck.
-laterocollis : the head is tipped toward the shoulder
-rotational torticollis : the head rotates along the longitudal axis
-anterocollis : forward flexion of the head and neck...
-retrocollis : hyperextension of head and neck backward
A combination of these movements may often be observed. Torticollis can be a disorder in itself as well as a symptom in other conditions. Other symptoms include:
-Neck pain
-Occasional formation of a mass
-Thickened or tight sternocleidomastoid muscle
-Tenderness on the cervical spine

The cause of congenital muscular torticollis is unclear. Intrauterine malposition is considered to be the cause of damage to the sternocleidomastoid muscles in the neck. Other alterations to the muscle tissue arise from repetitive microtrauma within the womb or a sudden change in the calcium concentration in the body which causes a prolonged period of muscle contraction. Any of these mechanisms can result in a shortening or excessive contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which curtails its range of motion in both rotation and lateral bending. The head typically is tilted in lateral bending toward the affected muscle and rotated toward the opposite side. In other words, in the direction towards the shortened muscle with the chin tilted in the opposite direction. Congenital Torticollis is presented at 1–4 weeks of age and a hard mass usually develops. It is normally diagnosed using ultrasonography and a colour histogram or clinically through evaluating the infant's passive cervical range of motion. Congenital torticollis constitutes the majority of cases seen in clinical practice.  The reported incidence of congenital torticollis is 0.3-2.0%.^. Sometimes a mass, such as a sternocleidomastoid tumor, is noted in the affected muscle at the age of two to four weeks. Gradually it disappears, usually by the age of eight months, but the muscle is left fibrotic.